Oxford teen remembered by family as ‘great kid’ after dying in dirt bike accident

Teen remembered by family as ‘great kid’ Recent graduate died in dirt bike crash

By
Dave Phillips, The Oakland Press

and
Monica Drake, The Oakland Press

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

An 18-year-old man from Oxford Township died after injuring himself in a dirt bike crash.

Tyler James Flook died at McLaren Oakland Hospital at 3:20 p.m. Sunday. He hit his head on the concrete after crashing his 1997 Suzuki RM250 dirt bike into a parked truck on Saturday night.

His older sister, Felecia, said, “I don’t think it will ever set in for me that he is gone. ... I stayed by his side in the ER, holding his hand and telling him to come back.”

Tyler just graduated from Oxford High School in May and was planning to attend Michigan State University in the fall.

“He’s too young,” said Felecia.

She said she will always remember him as a responsible and caring person who loved everything outdoors, like motorcycles, BMX bikes, dirt bikes, snowmobile riding, hunting and playing basketball.

“I will miss seeing him interact with his nephews and reciting every line from a movie. ... Most of all I will miss his beautiful smile and his little hair flip he did. He was definitely a great kid,” said Felecia.

With tears in her eyes, his grandmother, Maureen Mirovsky, said, “For a teenager, he was the kindest and most thoughtful kid. He was just starting the prime of his life.”

“No grandmother or parent should lose their babies. They should go first. We got robbed big time.”

Mirovsky said she last saw her grandson last week.

“The silly kid couldn’t find his Social Security card. He was starting a job and couldn’t find it,” she said of his new job at Indianwood Golf and Country Club in Orion Township. “We went down to the Social Security office together. He could come to me for anything.”

Tammy Alvarado, his mother’s best friend, said Tyler was like a nephew to her.

Alvarado called Tyler a “mama’s boy.” His mom, Annmaree, is recently in remission from breast cancer after being diagnosed in 2011.

“Tyler was her rock,” said Alvarado. “He supported her in every way possible.”

She added that Tyler is an organ donor and described him as having a “passion for life.”

“He was adventurous, always had a smile on his face and was willing to do anything to help somebody out,” said Alvarado, who last saw him at his graduation party. “I will miss his hugs and kisses and him calling me ‘Aunt Tee Tee.’”

Tyler’s father, George, said, “He will be greatly missed.” His mother, Annmaree, called Tyler her “golden child” and said that he could never do any wrong in her eyes.

“A mother’s bond will never be broken,” she said.

His younger brother Logan, 10, said he will miss playing X-box with Tyler, wrestling with him and learning things from him.

His grandfather, Daniel Mirovsky, said the two of them went hunting together every year.

“It will be so hard to go hunting without him there. His Mimi and I are in total shock. Don’t know what to do without him,” he said.

Marc, Tyler’s godfather and uncle, said his godson had so much still to offer the world.

“It was cut short like this. It’s not fair,” said Marc.

Marc said Tyler put his family first, before anything else. He said one of his favorite memories with his godson was when they would tease each other.

“Instead of Uncle Marc, he would call me Aunt Martha,” he said. “He was a good-hearted kid with a good sense of humor.”

The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate the crash, which occurred around 9:30 p.m. Saturday in the 2300 block of Granger Road in Oxford.

Witnesses told investigators that Tyler had been doing wheelies in the driveway when he struck the back of the parked truck. He was thrown from the dirt bike, lost his helmet and hit the concrete driveway. He suffered serious head trauma.

Tyler was the son of Annmaree and George Flook and is survived by siblings Felecia, Rylee, Logan and George E. Flook, Jr. He was the grandson of Daniel and Mary Mirovsky and Maureen Mirovsky; nephew of Marc and Renee Mirovsky and Johnny and Lori Croasdell; and uncle of Isiah and Josiah, according to the obituary on the Modetz Funeral Homes website.